Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.43.

RGLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $82,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,950. This represents a 3.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total transaction of $291,747.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,859.40. This trade represents a 17.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 357.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,473,000 after acquiring an additional 40,419 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 75.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,174,000 after purchasing an additional 28,163 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 187.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 127,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,049,000 after buying an additional 83,015 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,201,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 114.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,527,000 after buying an additional 17,227 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Price Performance

NASDAQ RGLD opened at $144.27 on Wednesday. Royal Gold has a 1 year low of $100.55 and a 1 year high of $155.10. The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.76 and a 200 day moving average of $138.59.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $193.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.12 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 42.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Research analysts expect that Royal Gold will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is currently 41.28%.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, acquires and manages precious metal streams, royalties, and related interests. The company engages in acquiring stream and royalty interests or to finance projects that are in production, development, or in the exploration stage in exchange for stream or royalty interests, which primarily consists of gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals.